Homes for sale in Door County, Real estate, waterfront property for sale in Sturgeon Bay, Southern Door, Fish Creek, Sister Bay, Algoma, Kewaunee

February 2018 Newsletter

February 19, 2018 by admin

Let’s start out with a correction from last month’s year end newsletter:

Median price values for 2016 and 2017 were transposed. Here’s the correct year-end median price for the MLS 2016 and 2017…..2016 median price was $145,000 while 2017 showed a 10% increase to $159,500.

January 2018 showed a very typical start for sales. The number of sales was up from 51 last year to 55 this year. There was a solid increase in median price from $130,000 to $144,000, although I would not put much stock in any January numbers since it’s one of the slowest months of the year and just a few sales can skew the numbers dramatically.

The numbers do continue this strong 3 year recovery we are experiencing. All looks good for the Door-Kewaunee markets EXCEPT…..a shortage of housing inventory. This is a nationwide dilemma that tends to drive prices up as we have seen here in our markets. This is especially true of residential housing…..shorefront and inland homes.

There were some interesting quirks in the inland residential housing sector of the Door-Kewaunee markets:

Overall sales increased from 411 units to 477 in 2017 with a median price increase from $150,000 to $173,900, a jump of 16%.
City of Sturgeon Bay showed a drop in median price from $136,250 in 2016 to $130,900 last year. That’s a decrease of 4%.
Kewaunee County sold fewer homes, dropping from 82 in 2016 to 74 last year, but median price rose from $93,000 to $103,450 in 2017….up 11%.

All this affirms what we have witnessed over the last year or so….The Northern Door County Housing Market, shore and inland, is VERY STRONG!

ERA Starr Realty, with offices in Sister Bay and Sturgeon Bay is poised to assist buyers and sellers with all their real estate needs. We have done it since 1954 and are proud to have helped more buyers and sellers than any other MLS agency over the last three years. We are: “Always There for You!”

Congratulations Susan May!

January 23, 2018 by Stephen Arbole

Susan May from our office was awarded 2017 Realtor of the Year by the Door County Board of Realtors during their general membership meeting in January. Congratulations!!!

We are very proud of you!

December 2017 Newsletter

December 26, 2017 by admin

After a very robust first 10 months of 2017, activity for November returned to a more normal pace. With 84 sales and production of $16.2 million, market activity slowed down from the rather torrid November pace of 2016 where sales numbered 111 and production recorded a record $22 million.

Average number of sales for November over the last 5 year was 78, so our 2017 production was still well above average.

Median price year to date through November is $155,475 compared to $144,700 last year. That’s a solid increase of 7.5%. Does that mean overall prices in Door-Kewaunee Counties are up for all type properties? Probably not and here’s why!

Looking at Residential Shore Home sales we find some rather dramatic numbers for the first 11 months of the year:

Median Price for shore homes in Southern Door (all waterfront homes South of Sturgeon Bay to the county line) increased from $283,500 in 2016 to $320,000 this year for an increase of 13%.

North of Sturgeon Bay (excluding Washington Island) we discover a staggering increase in price for shore homes of 38%. Median price elevated from $452,500 last year to $623,000 here in 2017.

These numbers have a lot to do with the overall median price increase of 7.5% and points out the importance of refining market data while searching for the value of any particular property.

Here at ERA Starr Realty, we specialize in digging deep into the market data in searching for realistic values for any parcel of real estate. We feel this is necessary to provide the very best service to all our customers and clients. As usual, we are “Always there for You!

October 2017 Newsletter

October 17, 2017 by admin

With the third quarter of 2017 in the books, it’s time to review the residential housing markets in Door and Kewaunee Counties.

In my 49 years of full time involvement in the real estate industry here in Door and Kewaunee Counties, I have been through a number of significant ups and downs in this business. I am greatly encouraged with the current climate and do not expect any slow down in the near future. With that said, let’s look at the numbers for residential inland home sales for the first three quarters of the year:

Baileys Harbor-Liberty Grove-Ephraim-Sister Bay-Gibraltar

	2016	2017
Number of Homes Sold	69	119
Median Price	$214,900	$244,000

Sevastopol-Sturgeon Bay-Southern Door

	2016	2017
Number of Homes Sold	138	144
Median Price	$154,500	$145,250

Kewaunee County

	2016	2017
Number of Homes Sold	60	60
Median Price	$ 85,100	$ 98,300

The above chart clearly depicts a very strong market in Northern Door County. The number of sales is up 73% with an accompanying increase in median price of 13%. They are certainly having a “banner year”.

In the Sturgeon Bay area we find a 6% drop in median price while the number of sales increased just over 4%. In monitoring this market, I found a real strong demand for the more “affordable housing” sector of the market, typically homes under $150,000.

Kewaunee County experienced a nice 16% increase in median price with a very stable overall market with 60 homes sold each year for the last two years.

Here at ERA Starr Realty we are pleased to again lead the MLS in number of transactions for the first three quarters of 2017 at 258 compared to the second place agency checking in with 184. If you are buying or selling we are: Always there For YOU!

Until next month,

Dennis J. Starr

Realtor Emeritus, ERA Starr Realty

September 2017 Newsletter

September 22, 2017 by admin

The Door-Kewaunee real estate markets just seem to keep moving in a solidly positive direction……stronger sales, increasing median prices, and an overall positive market trend. With the memory still there from the 2008 housing bubble burst, there is always some caution in looking at all the positive news.

August brought the highest number of sales in the last 5 years. With 112 sales producing $23.7 million in production, we find both numbers substantially higher than the last 5 years for August.

Number of sales jumped from 92 last year for a solid 21% increase. $23.7 million in production exceeds the $19.4 million produced in August of 2014 by 22% and exceeded last year’s $17.5 million of production. That’s a 35% increase!!

Now, everybody’s favorite……..Median Price. Here we continue a gradual improvement, moving from $151,000 last year in August to $155,000 this year for a rather steady increase of 2.7%.

However, in looking at year-to-date median price numbers, we find a rather solid increase this year compared to the previous 4 years. Going back to 2013, here are the year to date median price numbers (January 1 through August 31):

2013	$134,900
2014	$137,800
2015	$145,000
2016	$137,250
2017	$155,000

Here we see the YTD median price numbers through August showing a very solid 13% increase over last year and a 7% jump over the next strongest year (2015).

Monitoring median price and all other market conditions is part of the service we offer all our customers and clients here at ERA Starr Realty. We have been doing it since 1954! With 29 agents, we offer the experience and enthusiasm necessary to provide the quality service our profession demands. We are: “ALWAYS THERE FOR YOU”!

Mid-Year Newsletter July 2017

July 19, 2017 by admin

A solid June polished off what has to be labeled a highly positive 6 months for the real estate industry in the Door-Kewaunee market place.

Here are the vitals for residential inland properties:

	2016	2017	% of change
Number of Sales	154	215	+40%
Median Price	$145,000	$162,500	+12%
Days on the Market	248	223	+10%

For all properties recorded in the MLS, we find that there were a total of 427 sales for the first 6 months of 2017. This compared to 389 sales in 2016. That’s a 10% increase.

Median price for all properties checked in with an 11% increase moving from $139,225 in 2016 to $154,000 here in 2017.

This information shows us that inland residential housing did the bulk of the work in accounting for the solid sales and median price increases for our market. In 2016 residential inland home sales accounted for 41% of the overall activity in our MLS. The second strongest contributor to sales was residential condominiums at 13%.

Inland residential for the first 6 months of 2017 was 50% of all sales recorded in the MLS.

As always, ERA Starr Realty prides itself in keeping current with all that is going on in Door and Kewaunee Counties regarding real estate. We continue to lead the MLS in properties listed and sold as we have for the last decade+. For answers to any and all your real estate questions, give us a call…we are “Always There For You”!

June 2017 Newsletter

June 21, 2017 by admin

With May in the books and mid-year fast approaching, it is evident that the real estate market here in Northeast Wisconsin (especially Door and Kewaunee counties) is and should continue to be very solid. All indications show positive signs for the remainder of 2017.

First, let’s take a look at median price and compare the first 5 months of the last several years:

2017	$150,000
2016	$131,000
2015	$131,000
2014	$131,850
2013	$127,625

The collapse of the real estate market started in 2008 and “peaked” in about 2012, when median price fell to just over $120,000, so we can see that median price for the first 5 months of any year from 2008 through 2017 varied by a maximum of 25%. It is interesting to note that through most of those years, median price was rather stable in the low $130’s. This market has never fluctuated as wildly as the markets in California, East Coast, and Nevada.

The number of sales thus far in 2017 topped out at 81, which is 19% higher than 2016, but exactly the same as the previous three years. At this point in 2017, we have to label real estate activity as stable.

Thus far in 2017, ERA Starr Realty continues to lead the MLS in sales and listings sold. This has been the case virtually every year since the current MLS system format was adopted in 2003. We are proud of our success, not only during the “good times” but also when the market flounders. We are careful to make sure we have all the current sales information digested so we can keep our customers and clients fully informed on market conditions. We are “Always There For YOU!”

March 2017 Door County MLS Newsletter

March 21, 2017 by admin

February, much like January, is typically one of the slowest months of the year. Consequently it is difficult to use sales data as a predictor of future activity for our Door-Kewaunee real estate markets. This has been the case since the introduction of the current MLS program in 2003.

Regardless, let’s take a look at what February had to offer: 49 sales for a total volume of $11.5 million is the best in the last 5 years. This is a bit unusual and helps create an optimistic view for the rest of the year.

Median price for the month was a whopping $159,500 which compares to $107,000 in 2016. Again, we cannot get too excited because of the relatively small number of sales for the month. We should also note that the northern part of Door County had an unusually large number of sales on “big ticket” properties compared to most years.

Year-to-date we show 100 sales compared to 76 last year, a solid 32% increase. With the help of the big numbers in February, we also see a nice increase in the median price, moving from $144,500 last year to $154,500 thus far this year. That’s a nice increase of 7%.

Overall, despite limited data, we have to conclude that 2017 is off to a very solid start. Good news for sellers. The only negative might be a limited inventory of homes and properties available for sale. 2015 and 2016 were excellent years with the total number of sales far surpassing previous years. 2016 checked in with a total of 1006 sales, compared to 953 in 2015 and 782 in 2014.

I believe we have effectively cleaned out the “excess” inventory that resulted from the housing crises of the late 2000’s and early 2010’s.

ERA Starr Realty continues to lead the MLS in total transaction thus far in 2017. Our agents remain focused on providing the best in service to all our customers and clients. Give us a call. We are “Always there For You”!

January 2017 Newsletter

January 19, 2017 by admin

December 2016 finished with a bang! Solid increases in both the number of sales and total volume made for a solid finishing touch for the year. End of year totals also were solid and gave us two consecutive years of excellent activity here in the Door-Kewaunee County real estate markets.

For the month of December there were 96 sales for $21.3 million. That compares to last year’s total of 82 sales for $17.7 million in volume. That’s a nice increase of 17% in sales and 20% in dollar volume, leading to a substantial median price boost from $138,750 in 2015 to $156,700 in 2016.

Now for the important final stats for the year 2016:

	2015	2016	CHANGE
Number of Sales	955	1005	+5.2%
Volume (millions)	$198.5	$194.2	-2.2%
Median Price	$146,000	$145,000	-1.0%

If we look back to 2013 and 2014 we find median price for both years at $140,000, while the number of sales and volume averaged about 800 sales and $154 million in volume. Needless to say, the last two years are a vast improvement for the real estate industry here in Door and Kewaunee Counties.

Here at ERA Starr Realty we experienced a truly banner year with dramatic increases in both number of transactions and dollar volume:

Our leading transaction number increased from 332 in 2015 to 378 in 2016, an increase of 14%.
Our volume also jumped from $48.4 million to $58.5 million…..a 21% improvement.
The second leading office showed 189 transactions for $56.8 million in volume. Interestingly, their number of sales was exactly one half of our production.

These are great reasons to give ERA Starr Realty a call when seeking information about real estate conditions in the Door or Kewaunee County markets.

We are…“Always There For You!”

December 2016 Newsletter

December 19, 2016 by admin

November truly qualifies as a “banner” month for the Door County MLS system. With the previous couple of months pretty much mirroring 2015 production, this November displayed a rather dramatic up tick.

To be specific, we find that November 2016 is a record month for the MLS system, surpassing November in 2004 when 100 sales for $20.9 million in production was recorded.

November 2016: 110 sales good for $22.1 million in volume!!

That works out to a 10% increase in sales and a 6% jump in volume over 2004.

This strong November helped propel year-to-date transactions past last year’s strong showing. Here are the vitals: number of sales up from 873 last year to 907 here in 2016, a 4% increase. Volume still lags a bit behind at $172.6 million this year compared to $189.8 last year resulting in a 4.5% decrease.

The most important statistic to most buyers, sellers and readers is a median price comparison: 2015 median price was $148,000 vs. $145,000 this year for a decrease of just 2%.

Bottom line for this market can be described as “strong sales activity with stable values”.

As we complete this year and look back at 2015 and earlier, it’s safe to say the real estate market here in Door-Kewaunee shows two consecutive years of strong recovery from the meltdown back in the mid-late 2000’s. And the future looks bright.

Here at ERA Starr Realty we are proud to have played a significant role in November’s success. We totaled 53 transactions compared to the second strongest office with 21, along with $5.1 million in volume. Let us know if we can help with any of your real estate needs. We are….. “Always There For You!”